Author: roymorgansocial

CBA leads small business banking satisfaction during COVID-19 shutdowns

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Jun-20

New research from Roy Morgan shows that small business owner banking satisfaction for the four major banks was at 71% in the 12 months to April, an increase of 0.9% points from the year to March as shutdowns were enforced across the Australian economy. Satisfaction increased for all four major banks and was highest in the year to April for the Commonwealth Bank at 74.6%, up 0.9% points on the corresponding figure for March. However, the biggest increase was for ANZ which increased 1.1% points to 64.2% while there were also increases in satisfaction for both Westpac and NAB. These are the latest findings from interviews with 2,359 small businesses owners as part of the Roy Morgan Business Owner Satisfaction Monitor regarding their level of satisfaction with the financial institution they deal with.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence unchanged at 97.5

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 24-Jun-20

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence was unchanged at 97.5 in the week to 21 June, although weakness was seen in three sub-indices compared to just one in the previous reading. Now 23% (down 1ppt) of Australians say their families are ‘better off’ financially than this time last year, while 36% (up 1ppt) say their families are ‘worse off’ financially. Meanwhile, 35% (down 3ppts) of Australians expect their family to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year, and 18% (up 1ppt) expect to be ‘worse off’ financially. Just 10% (up 1ppt) expect ‘good times’ for the Australian economy over the next 12 months, while 40% (up 2ppts) expect ‘bad times’. In addition, 38% (up 1ppt) of Australians say now is a ‘good time to buy’ major household items, while 31% (down 3ppts) say now is a ‘bad time to buy’. The four-week moving average for ‘inflation expectations’ was stable at 3.2%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Unis short-changed on job-creating courses

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Original article by Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 6 : 22-Jun-20

The federal government’s university reforms aim to encourage students to enrol in high-­priority courses such as nursing, maths and engineering by reducing the amount students pay to study them through the HECS-HELP loan scheme. However, Education Department figures indicate the government will also cut funding for courses such as maths and engineering, meaning universities will get paid less to teach these courses. Frank Larkins, a researcher at Melbourne University’s Centre for Higher Education, says falls in overall revenue per student for high-priority areas could make it hard for universities to teach more students in these ‘job-creating’ courses.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Wage rise an assault on small business

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Weekend Australian – Page: 3 : 20-Jun-20

Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO James Pearson has criticised the decision to increase the minimum wage at a time when the economy and the labour market have been hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox warns that the minimum wage rise of 1.75 per cent will affect hiring intentions at a time when unemployment and underemployment have increased sharply. Professor Mark Wooden is the only member of the Fair Work Commission’s wage panel to have pushed for the minimum wage to be frozen for 12 months.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

NW Shelf shake-up looming

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Weekend Australian – Page: 21 & 22 : 20-Jun-20

Former Woodside Petroleum CEO Don Voelte says a new model for the $34 billion North West Shelf LNG plant that would see it process gas for other firms may not suit some of its current owners. Woodside is one of six joint-venture partners who own the plant, but Chevron has decided to sell out of the plant, and BP and Shell could follow suit. Voelte says he would not surprised to see more selling of assets by major oil firms; he notes that Exxon is currently trying to sell its interest in the Bass Strait assets. He says asset sales have always been part of the majors’ strategy, but they would not get as much now as they would now.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, CHEVRON CORPORATION, BP PLC, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, EXXON CORPORATION, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Australian beef exports at risk

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Original article by Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 22-Jun-20

China imposed bans on meat from four of Australia’s largest abattoirs in May, citing health certification and labelling issues. Xiamen Xiangyu Group executive Eric Huang says the commodities trader will have to switch to US beef suppliers if the bans on the four abattoirs are not lifted in the next six months; the state-owned Chinese company purchases 20,000 tonnes of Australian beef a month. The federal government contends that the ban was ‘punishment’ for its push to hold an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19.

CORPORATES
XIAMEN XIANGYU GROUP

The Australian named most trusted paper

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Original article by Christine Lacy
The Australian – Page: 19 : 22-Jun-20

The Reuters Institute’s annual Digital News Report has found that the ABC and SBS are the most trusted media outlets in Australia, with trust scores of 72 per cent and 71 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, ‘The Australian’ is the nation’s most trusted newspaper across print and digital, with a trust score of 56 per cent. The News Corp Australia flagship was also ranked second among newspapers in Australia, the US and the UK, behind the ‘Financial Times’ with a trust score of 58 per cent.

CORPORATES
REUTERS INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Big miners back a greener future

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Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 22-Jun-20

The Minerals Council of Australia will release details of a three-year climate action plan on 22 June, as well as endorsing the Paris agreement. The MCA’s climate plan includes the use of renewable energy and electric vehicles at mine sites, and it has been put together in response to a climate change backlash from fund managers and shareholders of MCA member companies. As to the issue of zero net emissions targets, MCA CEO Tania Constable says there is no set sector-wide deadline, with member companies having their own timeframes.

CORPORATES
MINERALS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Coronavirus cases in Victoria rise by 19 as state of emergency extended for a further four weeks

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Original article by
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 22-Jun-20

The Victorian government will reinstate some coronavirus restrictions as the number of new infections in the state continues to rise. Amongst other things, people will be limited to having no more than five visitors inside their home at a time, while a maximum of 10 people will be able to attend outdoor gatherings. Another 19 new cases of the coronavirus were recorded in Victoria on 21 June; this include three contractors who work at Melbourne’s Stamford Plaza hotel, where people who have returned from overseas are being quarantined.

CORPORATES

Third media report in a year

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 22-Jun-20

The federal government has issued a tender for an independent report on the media industry. The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development & Communication will pay up $220,000 for the report, which will examine both the existing business models for the media sector and the regulatory regimes in other countries. The government previously received two separate reports on the regional broadcasting sector in late 2019 and early 2020, although this will not be a specific focus of the new report.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS